6 Things We Want To See In The First X-Men: Dark Phoenix Trailer

2019 is looking to be a big year of superhero movies with highly anticipated releases like Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman 1984, and Avengers 4 all coming down the pipeline. With such big movies on the horizon, it's easy to forget about X-Men: Dark Phoenix. The fourth film in the somewhat-rebooted X-Men series has suffered some setbacks and even though the movie is due to be released in February, no trailer has been released yet. That's likely to change sooner rather than later, but Fox is leaving us all to twiddle our thumbs and wonder what's in store.

Originally scheduled to hit theaters this November, Dark Phoenix was delayed for reshoots, which quickly caused rumors to fly that not all was well in Mutant Land. Production has stated that the reshoots are fairly typical and only delayed the film due to having to work around the schedules of busy A-Lists actors. Whatever, the case not much is known about the movie, so a trailer will go a long way in either easing fans' minds... or confirming fears. Given the iconic status of the storyline the movie is adapting, there's plenty a trailer can do to win us over, and these are 6 things we'd love to see.

Space Stuff

The X-Men movies have kept things relatively grounded, but you can't have a sentient, all-powerful, cosmic energy being in the shape of a bird without having your head in the clouds. The Dark Phoenix storyline is largely set in the cosmos, with the emergence of the Phoenix Force causing the X-Men to be pulled into an intergalactic conflict. The X-Men have lots of adventures in space, but introducing the concept to the films would be a good way to shake the franchise up and give it some new energy. Plus, going cosmic has paid off big time for the MCU, so I wouldn't be surprised to see some teases in the trailer that the X-Men are heading for the stars.

Clues About Jessica Chastain's Role

Jessica Chastain is in X-Men: Dark Phoenix but very little is known about her role. It was originally rumored that she would be playing Liliandra, queen of the Shi'ar, an alien race that plays a big part in the Dark Phoenix conflict and other cosmic stories. However, that is apparently not the case, and Chastain could be playing an unnamed shape-shifter, which doesn't ring any bells regarding the comic book story. A trailer can hopefully shed some light on who the character is, and what she is after.

The Shi'ar

If the film is going to space, then it's likely that the Shi'ar are in the cards, as well. The Shi'ar are an alien race that takes on the responsibility of finding justice for all the lives taken by the Phoenix Force. They are a massive powerhouse in the galaxy, but are less war hungry than the Skrulls or Kree. The main species is a bunch of bird people led by Liliandra (frequent love interest to Professor X), but they also draft members of other species to be members of the Imperial Guard, a team of space warriors that protect the Empire and are led by a powerful alien named Gladiator. They are pretty cool, and while they probably wouldn't be directly adapted, it'd be interesting to see them in some form.

A More Colorful Tone

The X-Men franchise deserves a lot of credit for making superhero movies a form of entertainment to take seriously, but it's been reluctant to move past that same tone. For the most part, these movies have refused to give in to more traditional superhero aesthetics, like colorful costumes for example. The ending of X-Men: Apocalypse finally saw the team wearing something other than black leather, with each X-Man getting their own unique costume. Let's hope that Dark Phoenix doesn't backtrack, and decides to give in a little bit to comic book elements.

The Phoenix Destroys a Solar System

Take that Thanos! There's a reason that the Shi'ar come looking for the Phoenix Force and it's because Dark Phoenix destroys a star while mad with power, wiping out an entire solar system in the process. That's heavy stuff, and it shows off the scale of the story that Fox is working with. Destroying trillions of lives might be a little over the top for this one movie, but I'd settle for a planet or small moon. Jean Grey is a danger while connected to the Phoenix and something needs to happen to sell why she's a threat to everyone around her. Blowing up a star is an excellent way to establish that.

A Blockbuster Video

Dark Phoenix takes place in the nineties, keeping with the tradition of X-Men sequels moving forward by a decade. This time the nineties are up, and if Captain Marvel taught us anything, it's that the best way to tell the audience that the film is set in the past is by showing a Blockbuster Video.